Let's assume that Paterno is planning for his death. Couldn't this be a way to keep his assets he plans to pass directly to his sons under the threshold for estate taxes. Isn't that currently $5MIL. If his home is 1/2 his at the time of his death, even if it automatically passes to his wife, isn't1/2 thevalue of the homeadded to his estate, which would be a portion of the allowable non-taxable assets?
By moving the house to his wife, he essentially freed up $300K to keep assets under the estate tax threshold. I believe there is a limit to the amount you can do this to from year to year also, so this really could be a multi-year plan to defraud the government. 
Of course, the timing makes him look like a pervert protecting *******.